


sunlight's childhood friend

by xinmo



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Assumed Relationship, Childhood Friends, M/M, Pre-Relationship, clingy!ritsu, if you squint real hard, possessive!ritsu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-26 12:14:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21849487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xinmo/pseuds/xinmo
Summary: “They’re so cute together, don’t you agree, Hokke?” Subaru asks with a grin as he grabs Hokuto’s arm.“That’s only natural. I mean, they are dating.” Hokuto points out, making Mao choke on his drink.or the whole school thought that Mao and Ritsu are dating, when really, they aren’t... until they are.
Relationships: Isara Mao/Sakuma Ritsu
Comments: 10
Kudos: 147





	sunlight's childhood friend

**Author's Note:**

> all mistakes are mine! also, english isn't my first language so please go easy on me ç_ç

“Ah, Isara, you came in just on time.” Subaru greets as Mao enters the cafe. Makoto and Hokuto are sitting right next to Subaru, with cups of tea that are only half-full, indicating that the three of them have been waiting for him for quite some time now. 

“Sorry I’m late.” Mao apologizes, adjusting his grip on the sleeping Ritsu he’s been carrying all the way from school to the cafe. He always has a tendency to be late for their weekly band meetings, given that his jobs for the student council are sometimes a lot and take up too much of his time to the point that he loses track of time. His tardiness for this meeting, however, is because of another reason. A reason in the form of Ritsu sleeping on the floor of the hallway. Again. 

It wasn’t the first time Mao had to get Ritsu’s sleeping form in the hallways or, basically, anywhere in the school grounds. At this point of their friendship, Mao had grown used to his childhood friend’s tendency to fall asleep literally anywhere he can fit his body to. Today, he was supposed to bring Ritsu back home, but then he remembered that he has a band meeting in a cafe located between Yumenosaki Academy and Ritsu’s place, so he decided that he’ll just bring Ritsu with him in the meeting before bringing him home.

“It’s alright, we haven’t started the meeting yet.” Makoto says with a smile as Mao carries Ritsu towards the unoccupied couch beside Subaru. 

“Ricchan,” Mao says softly, “I’m putting you down now.” 

“Maa-kun.” Ritsu mumbles from the back of Mao’s neck before tightening his hold on his shoulders, a gesture saying that he doesn’t want to be put down anytime soon. Mao knows this gesture already. After being friends with Ritsu for as long as he can remember, the two of them had already silently established different actions that only they understand. 

“Okay then,” Mao says before sitting down on the couch, with Ritsu still on tow behind him. It’s a miracle that the couch is large enough to occupy the two of them in this position, with Ritsu acting like an oversized backpack behind Mao and Mao sitting in front of him.

Hokuto and Makoto look at him with a questioning look while Subaru is practically looking at them with amazement. Anzu just seems unperturbed. 

“You can put him down beside you. You seem uncomfortable.” Hokuto suggests with concern, making Mao raise his eyebrow because that’s the last thing that he feels. If there’s anything, he’s more comfortable in this position since this is natural to him. 

“It’s fine, I’m used to it.” Mao says as he feels Ritsu squirm from his seat, wrapping his arms around Mao’s waist. Yep, he’s definitely comfortable in this position.

“How ‘bout you, Ritsu? Do you feel uncomfortable?” Makoto asks but he didn’t get any response. Judging by Ritsu’s breathing patterns, Isara can feel that Ritsu is fast asleep right now, and that is already a response in its form. Isara knows that Ritsu can sleep anywhere whether or not the place is comfortable. In an uncomfortable place or position, Ritsu would’ve woken up at the slightest disturbance, but if he’s in a comfortable position, it becomes difficult to wake him up. Although, by now, Mao has learned various ways to wake Ritsu up even in his deepest most comfortable slumbers. Who would Mao be if he didn’t know it by now.

“He’s comfortable here.” Isara says on Ritsu’s behalf as he takes a sip from the cup of tea Makoto poured for him. 

“They’re so cute together, don’t you agree, Hokke?” Subaru asks with a grin as he grabs Hokuto’s arm. 

“That’s only natural. I mean, they are dating.” Hokuto points out, making Mao choke on his drink. 

Mao tries to cough out the tea that entered the wrong path, because him and Ritsu? Dating? What on earth would give them the idea?

“Ritsu and I aren’t dating.” Mao says, surprised that Ritsu still hasn’t woken up from his back after his absurd coughing.

His four friends are looking at him with matching bewildered expressions. 

“Wait, the two of you aren’t dating? Are you sure?” Anzu asks with a high-pitched voice. 

“Yes? I mean, we’re just friends.” Mao says unsurely. He doesn’t understand how his friends had gotten the impression that he and Mao are dating because as far as he’s concerned, the two of them had been platonic the whole time.

“Wow, and to think that the whole school thought you guys were a couple.” Hokuto says.

“The whole school?” Mao squeaks out. He doesn’t know how to clarify this false assumption to the whole student body.

“Yeah, why do you think you’re the one who everyone calls whenever Ritsu falls asleep somewhere.” Anzu says.

“Oh,” Mao says. Now that he thinks about it, he never questioned whenever their advisory teacher would specifically ask for him to get Ritsu. Not only their teacher, but basically everyone who sees Ritsu’s sleeping form somewhere he wasn’t supposed to be sleeping on. Mao also never questioned it whenever someone addresses Ritsu as his boyfriend, but now he thinks that he knows the reason behind it.

“Let me get this straight. You and Ritsu go to school and leave school together while holding hands. You two are physically inseparable whenever you’re with him.” Makoto says.

“We’ve been holding hands whenever we go to school together ever since we started nursery. And we’re neighbors.” Mao explains truthfully. When he and Ritsu went on their first day of nursery, Ritsu was frightened to go out and meet new kids in their nursery, and because of this, Mao decided that he would hold Ritsu’s hand on the way there to comfort him and remind him that he’s not going to go through this alone. Holding Ritsu’s hand was meant to be a one-time thing, but he guesses that it became a tradition that neither of the two dared to break, even until now.

“So checking up on him and constantly being worried about him falling asleep somewhere are all friendly gestures only?” Hokuto asks.

“I always check up on you guys. I don’t see how it’s romantic.” Mao defends. 

“Not as frequent as you do with Ritsu.” Makoto points out.

“I’ve been checking up on him since we were kids because if he’s not going to do it himself, then someone else has to do it.” Mao says. 

Growing up with Ritsu can be a handful sometimes, since Ritsu was too carefree as a child, and even until now. Mao has the responsibility to be the one who looks after him, but he doesn’t mind it. Rei might have also been keeping an eye out for Ritsu, but Mao is the one whom Ritsu has trusted more. It’s not that Mao is stealing Rei’s title of being Ritsu’s older brother, contrary to that, actually. Ritsu and Rei’s relationship haven’t been the best while growing up, and this distant relationship between them had caused for Rei to not know some things about Ritsu that only Mao know and doesn’t want to divulge to another living soul, and Ritsu has silently entrusted him with those matters.

“Then explain all the clinginess. Particularly the hugging and the soft kisses. And even the nicknames if you will.” Subaru demands, seeming like he’s not letting Mao off the hook without an explanation.

“It’s platonic?” Mao says unsurely. “And you always give nicknames to people, even if you just met them.”

Even though the frequent check ups and inseparable time together were few of the many things that Mao and Ritsu had grown accustomed to in their time of friendship, the hugs, especially the soft kisses, are only recent developments of their friendship. Mao has considered these as few of Ritsu’s peculiar gestures. Peculiar, in the sense that the gestures that Ritsu always shows him are not what would be usually seen done to a friend. It’s not a bad thing, and Mao isn’t complaining about it.

“Platonic? You don’t see me kissing you on the cheeks.” Makoto comments.

“Now that you mentioned it, I should give you a nickname!” Subaru says cheerily. 

Before Mao got the chance to reply, he feels Ritsu squirm from his seat as he rested his chin on top of Mao’s shoulder.

“Only I can give Maa-kun a nickname. And no one’s going to kiss Maa-kun’s face but me.” Ritsu demands with a small frown, without any traces of sleepiness from his tone. He plants a soft kiss on Mao’s left cheek and tightens his embrace on Mao’s waist. Mao blushes at the sudden gesture, starting to understand why the whole school was under the impression that the two of them are dating.

“Are you sure that the two of you are not dating?” Subaru tries again and Mao looks at Ritsu’s face. Ritsu still hasn’t lifted his chin from Mao’s shoulders, leaving their faces only a few inches apart.

“No, we’re not.” Ritsu confirms and then looks at Mao’s face, his red eyes facing Mao’s green ones. “But we can, if you want.” He adds.

Mao stares at Ritsu’s eyes for a couple of seconds, trying to decipher whether or not his childhood friend is pulling another one of his jokes that are supposed to be funny, but he doesn’t notice any indications that he was joking. It is an odd request, but Mao doesn’t see the harm in either agreeing or disagreeing. 

Instead of giving him a verbal reply, Mao closed the distance between his and Ritsu’s lips as he kisses him softly, and he had known Ritsu long enough to know that Ritsu understands what he is trying to say.

**Author's Note:**

> kudos & comments are highly appreciated! especially constructive criticism :>


End file.
